DEVOTION | Catholics start visiting the St. Pio of Pietrelcina Chapel in Bagumbayan, Quezon City, to reflect and offer prayers on Holy Monday. (Photo by GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — For the majority of Filipino Catholics, practicing fasting, abstinence, praying and almsgiving during Lent and Holy Week is not a problem, according to the results of a recent survey conducted by the Catholic Church-run Radio Veritas.
Of the 1,200 respondents polled by Radio Veritas online and through text messaging about which penitential obligation was hardest for them to do, three out of five or 58 percent cited no difficulty in fulfilling any of these.
On the other hand, 26 percent picked fasting as the toughest while 10 percent picked giving alms.
Only 3 percent picked abstinence while another 3 percent said that praying was the hardest.
When broken down by age group, the survey found out that two out of five or 44 percent of young adult respondents between 18 and 20 years old said they were able to do their Lenten obligations without any difficulty.
However, half or 50 percent said that fasting was hard. For adults between ages 21 and 39, a total of 43 percent said that carrying their penitential obligations was not a problem either. But 35 percent in this age group said it was hard to observe fasting while for 13 percent, it was abstinence.
For those between 40 and 60 years old, nearly half or 48 percent cited no difficulty in fulfilling their penitential obligations. This was not the case for 33 percent who picked fasting while 19 percent pointed to almsgiving.
In the 61 and above age group who are not required to observe fasting, 84 percent said that doing their Lenten obligations was not a problem.
However, 11 percent said it was most difficult to give alms.
“It is encouraging to see these survey results which show that most Filipino Catholics remain steadfast in their penitential obligations during this blessed season,” said Radio Veritas president Fr. Anton Pascual.
“During Lent, we seek the Lord in prayer; we serve by giving alms; and we practice self-control through fasting and abstinence,” he added.
Radio Veritas survey head Fr. Clifford Sorita, meanwhile, attributed the survey results to the Filipino Catholics’ “deep sense of faith and sense of devotion.”
For Catholics, Lent and Holy Week, which is the week before Easter Sunday, are periods of preparation to celebrate Christ’s Resurrection at Easter.
Sorita said that Catholics perform their penitential obligations to “have the strength, like Christ, to avoid temptation with the help of God’s grace.”
“Lent is also a sacrificial season in which we strive to atone for our sins and purify our lives in preparation for the celebration of Christ’s rising from the tomb on Easter Sunday,” he said.
This year, the Lenten season began on Feb. 22 with Ash Wednesday and would end on April 6, Maundy Thursday.
Recollection
Meanwhile, The Lord’s Flock is offering a free, three-day Lenten recollection to the public so they can reflect on the personal meaning of God’s love and passion in everyday life.
Bishop Emeritus Ted Bacani, Fr. Jerry Orbos, Fr. Bong Guerrero, Father Pascual and Sister Techie Rodriguez will be among the speakers.
The recollection will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Holy Wednesday (April 5), 9 a.m. to noon on Maundy Thursday (April 6), and between 9 a.m. and noon on Good Friday (April 7) at 5 Catanduanes St., near the corner of West and Del Monte Avenues in Quezon City.
For more details, contact 8376-5780 or visit the Facebook page of The Lord’s Flock Catholic Charismatic Community.